Two Poems

before he could askI would say killthe two black ballshunting for a finalescape from thesteady steps of theman behind I want to challenge the murderfor the last timejust in time to think of the shredded vestsinside the trunk of bleached shirtsand dry-cleaned cardigansautomatically pausing the ‘bleeding heart liberal’from putting the rest before the selflike in most placestraining the head to lookthe other side of the lifeless eyeshurrying one’s paceto get to no-wherea classic case of momentary guiltwelling up to save the daybut not enough to act onthat day

nights

last night after I slept,it rolled into a sun-torched morning.alliances are made in the darknessas a stolen glance under the yellow lampshade,quietly hidden from view at the edge of the mirror.from where I sit, it is a floating lighteasily manipulated,compressed into darkness with an extra sheet.then the conversation is real:nothing about jobs, and ‘short-term contracts.’we speak about intergalactic kinship,‘how many of us in the many more of us?’ She interrupts mebefore I could fabricate. And when I start,we would have moved to phantasms and shadows that imitate usin the boulevard, and how we take a quick turn to teasethose who follow, only to crane our necksand regain the few friends we have.as the light grows dimmer, we hear strange noises in the backyard.we dwell a bit longer before we announce the howling windredundantly reminding us the broken shade that needs repairing.as we run out of urban mysteries and feigned disaster,we swing our heads inside the refrigerator.we make a lonesome sandwich of leftover vegetable curry and tomato sauce,revel at the finality of scarcity.how the crescent moon clasps our choices,from this world to hers.each time she peeks through the curtain of clouds,we two get lunatic.long nights are for witches.more puppetry with the lamp,less of awkward silences

Maitrayee Deka has a PhD in Sociology. Originally from Assam, she works as a researcher at the University of Milan. Her pieces have appeared in OpenDemocracy, Asia Times, and Seven Sisters Post. She is currently working on her poetry manuscript, Litmus Paper.